Welcome! If this is your first visit please note that you can click on any book cover to get the book from your local library or click on any book title to purchase it. Browse recent book reviews on the front page or browse by category in the sidebar. I welcome your comments and will try to reply as soon as possible.
One Sunday afternoon I was working at the check in desk. One of the reference librarians handed me her return materials, including Free For All, which she heartily recommended. ‘It’s a hoot’, she said.
And Borchert’s memoir of life in the library was at times absolutely laugh out loud funny, though just as when I read blogging librarian Woeful, I frankly found myself profoundly grateful that the patrons we serve and the problems we encounter in dealing with them are SO much less…colorful. While I have occasionally found some odd things in the book return drop and wondered why the heck someone had put them there, nothing in my own work experience compares to Borchert’s tale of finding a feces covered dildo in the book return at his suburban Los Angeles library.
Borchert writes well and tells a good story and after a couple of decades in the library he does have some stories to tell. From infuriating and unsolvable patron problems to the kind of questions that No Body Else would Ever get asked, Free For All is a hilarious account of life at the library. Highly Recommended if you work at a library, Recommended for amusement even if you don’t.
I enjoyed reading it. A lot of it rings true.
Sounds pretty funny! I worked at my university’s library while in college.
Thanks again Alan. I think this should be an excellent read.
Uh-oh. I can tell this is going to be one of those blogs that’s going to constantly add to my bloated wish list. *whimper*
I bet it’s an Excellent Read + just from the Title it sounds Funny!!
) Peace*
Hi Alan,
Just drop-by to pay homage to one of the best sites at Blogcatalog, if not the best. This is it, man! This is the one I’ve been looking for. I don’t have to peep through Times book reviews. This will not be the last of my visit. I’m just starting..
Only power failure will interfere.
Thanks for your visit.
Hi Matt,
I have to confess that re-taping a spine label thats come loose is the closest I’ve ever come to technical services and I have no clue where the bar codes Polaris reads come from
I am actually more interested in trying to get a position in collection services. I would love to have a hand in picking and buying the books.
Nice to see you again, Onchong. I will check out your brother’s site.
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My second visit. Your site is very interesting. I should introduce you to my brother, who loves reading, too. He has built a good collection of books, and colleting some more. He has his own library. You can exchange ideas with him.
His blogspot is: http://www.mindgames2008.blogspot.com
Have a great time!
Hey, thanks for advertising on my blog on entrecard. I worked at the West Bloomfield Public Library in W. Bloomfield MI for 17 years in technical services. I could be wrong, but the barcode in your graphic looks like it’s an Innovative Interfaces barcode.
Cheers!